The UTM Department of Chemistry and Physics hosted the spring 2018 edition of “Phun with Physics” on April 10, at 6 p.m. in Gooch Hall, room 117.
The event, which was open to the public free of charge, is intended to give people of all ages an up-close look at scientific experiments displaying different laws of physics, such as Newton’s Law. The event had seven different demonstrations for the students and other curious people in Gallien auditorium.
Physicist Jason Alexander began the event. “These are Society of Physics students and they’re going to be doing demonstrations for you this evening involving thermodynamics…expanding and contracting and blowing things up,” said Alexander.
The first demonstration involved the use of liquid nitrogen. The assistants poured liquid nitrogen into an empty two-liter bottle and then proceeded to close the bottle. The cap blew off the bottle as if it were a cannon. Afterwards, the assistants froze a banana in the liquid nitrogen and attempted to hammer a nail with it. The banana worked somewhat well as a hammer, but it shattered quickly.
To demonstrate gas dynamics, the assistants balanced a ball on two channels of wind, which helps explain how planes are able to fly. In the fluid mechanics demonstration, the assistants boiled water at a cold temperature, even allowing a student to touch the water. They were able to boil the water at an abnormal temperature due to manipulating the atmosphere of a glass case surrounding the water. According to assistant Thomas Crews, “Since we lowered the pressure, we lowered the boiling temperature.”
In the rotational motion demonstration, Alexander spun himself on a circular platform to show how arm placement affected the speed at which Alexander spun. If Alexander’s arms were spread, he would move slower. To increase his speed, Alexander folded in his arms.
In the electrocurion demonstration, the assistants used a “Van Der Graaf” generator. Student volunteers from the crowd were allowed to place one hand on the generator, causing their hair to stick up as if they were shocked. The effect was compared to “rubbing socks on a carpet.”
For more information on this event, contact the Department of Chemistry and Physics at (731)881-7450.
Pacer Graphic/ Daniel Jones
